Regen Ag Leadership Sparks Youth Movement On MFGA Board Executive Committee


Financial Acumen, Market Smarts also highlight additions to 2026 MFGA Board of Directors

Winnipeg, MB – (January 13, 2026) – The underlying signal one might take from Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association’s newly-minted 2026 Board of Directors executive committee is loud and clear:

We believe it is our time to lead and we ready to do so.

As approved by the MFGA Board of Directors at last week's meeting at Manitoba Agriculture's Food Development Center in Portage la Prairie,  the MFGA Board executive will be led by MFGA chair Zack Koscielny (29) of Strathclair, MB; vice-chair Zach Grossart (30) from the outskirts of Brandon, MB, and finance chair Amber McNish (25) of Lyleton, MB, for the next two years. 

The Millennial/Generational Z -born trio will benefit from the experience of recent MFGA chair and Wall of Fame inductee Mike Duguid, who will serve in the past chair role for one year. Duguid brings valuable experience on board governance and all MFGA matters to the MFGA executive committee.

While their collective birth certificates display their youth, the fact is all three have experience on the regenerative agriculture front by running, managing or soon to be running their own family farms. 

Koscielny and Grossart grew up on well-respected mixed farms and families in their region and McNish comes from a beef and forage background and generational family farm operation in the far southwest corner of Manitoba.

“This is awesome,” said Duncan Morrison, MFGA executive director. “All three of our new executives are veterans of our board and they have all contributed and have been constantly activated on MFGA issues, business, and ambassadorship over their respective terms on the board. This is their time to lead, and they know it and they want to make a difference by engaging and leading MFGA at the highest levels.”

Morrison said Koscielny will move up from vice chair to chair, Grossart stepped into the open vice chair role and McNish co-chaired the MFGA regen ag conference one year and served on the MFGA-Assiniboine Community College committee as alumni of ACC and member of MFGA board.

“Our new leadership group represents the many bright faces of regen ag in Manitoba in many ways,” said Morrison. “Their farming peers and networks are always well represented within the audience at the annual MFGA regenerative agriculture conference and are similarly aligned to the MFGA executive trio in age, mindset, farming preferences, family focus and information gathering.” 

Morrison also tipped MFGA’s hat to dairy farmer Sean Smith, who stepped down off the MFGA executive as finance chair to concentrate his available volunteer hours on the recently launched Regeneration Canada Dairy Hub project that MFGA is core partner of. Smith, who is in same age range as the new MFGA executives, will remain on the MFGA Board as producer rep.

Additionally, MFGA welcomed two new board members to the first year of their first three-year term, with an option for their second three-year term following. Both new board members are steeped in financial acumen and market smarts and were unanimously added to the 2026 MFGA Board of Directors roster: 

• Brenda Tjaden is currently starting up a small ranch near Bird's Hill Park, based on the inspiration she has gained from MFGA events and networking with its members. Brenda's a market economist with a specialty in food and agriculture and decades of experience consulting and advising farms, agribusiness, and food companies through her professional services firm Prairie Routes.
• Andrew Rolfe, an RBC Relationship Manager, Commercial Financial Services – Agriculture & Agribusiness out of Winnipeg, was welcomed on to the MFGA board. Andrew brings a lifelong agriculture advocate and supporter and is an appreciator of the work of MFGA.

The MFGA board also approved the shuffling of one sitting board member from producer rep to commodity rep.

• Mark Schram of Cartwright, MB will succeed Mike Duguid as the Manitoba Beef Producer’s representative on the MFGA Board. Schram had served one year as producer rep on the MFGA Board.

For More Information:

Duncan Morrison, MFGA Executive Director, Duncan@mfga.net